Last evening we ate dinner on the terrace under the stars and nearly full moon, our table lighted with candles and graced with a delicious and simple dinner prepared by Costis. He boiled ziti al dente, drained it and in the same pot, sautéed 3 cloves of finely sliced garlic in about 4 Tbsps of fresh local olive oil. When the garlic was fragrant and golden he added a chiffonade of a handful of fresh local basil leaves and sautéed it until wilted. To this he added the still warm ziti and a generous sprinkling of freshly grated Parmesan. The mixture was stirred just until the cheese melted, then he served it up on individual plates. While he was working this magic, I sliced the bread and prepared a salad of sliced local tomatoes, chopped fresh oregano, Kalamata olives, cubed local sheep's milk feta, slices of peeled cucumber, a bit of finely sliced onion and a tablespoonful of capers. We drank a local wine given to us by the ever-generous Panayiotis and had a wide-ranging conversation about art, beauty, lifestyles, politics, economics and the environment. The menu I can re-create at home. The warm wind, beautiful stars overhead, conversation and camaraderie cannot be duplicated. These are special memories to store up for cold nights during Boston's long winters.
We all trundled to bed about 12:30 arising at 7 for coffee and breakfast which we attended, in accordance to last night's plan, wearing our bathing suits. We nibbled, threw our dirty dishes in the sink and walked along the path to the beach, avoiding the many piles of cow and horse poop along the path we share with local farmers and their animals. It's actually a very fine walk; however, I made a note to myself to reserve a “special” pair of flip flops for walking to and from the beach. Nothing compares to a morning dip in the turquoise sea. The water glittered in the sunlight and proved to be an inviting temperature that does not shock. We had the beach to ourselves and truly reveled in our own paradise. We could not tarry too long, however, as today is another work day.
After showers and dressing, we met with Vangelis, who will make the cushions for our couch and for the three verandas. Discussing the many details of heights, depth, foam firmness, piping, sun protection and the like we struck on a plan which Vangelis will implement after we meet again at Christmas time, when we will next be here. The couch cushions, however, he will complete in time for our next visit.
Next we went next door to our house to watch the arrival of the doors and windows. We had heard that they would be installed by the time we arrived, but now understand they will be installed by the time we depart. It was quite something to watch the arrival of the 2,000 pound glass patio door. It is the largest, by far, single door this company has designed and installed and it was clear Demetrius, the project manager, was very nervous about how successful the implementation would be. His father said it was impossible to talk to him since 6 am.
The doors and windows were made to Demetrius' specifications and our wishes at a factory in Poland. From there they were trucked to Thessaloniki in north Greece where they were loaded onto another truck. The second truck drove the load across Greece to Athens. At Piraeus the truck came on the ferry to Naxos. At the port of Naxos, the second truck loaded the goods onto a third, local truck, captained by a local crane operator. The last part of the trip was very precarious and succeeded because Demetrius walked in front of the truck. He thus guided the driver through each and every rut and dip in the cratered path to our house site. Next, the crane operator skillfully guided the pallets onto the various terraces. The final maneuver was truly the piece de resistance. The 2,000 pound door, consisting of a single sheet of triple pane glass, was removed from the truck bed and dropped exactly into place without the intervention of a single human hand save that of the operator's hands on a remote control. He was able to guide it 1 centimeter in any direction and succeeded in putting the entire unit exactly into place as if it were no more complex than setting a glass on a tabletop. It fit into the space like a hand into a glove. Only after it had been screwed in place and slid open and closed to test it several times did Demetrius finally smile and sit down for a glass of water. I am sure he will sleep well tonight!
For now, however, his work continued. We met and finalized plans for the 3 bathrooms and powder room. Vanities, mirrors, lights, doors, windows, heaters, towel racks and pegs, colors...all is now designed and understood so that the bathrooms will be completed and installed in our absence. We reviewed the kitchen plans for the last time as the kitchen will be completed two days hence. The kitchen installation needs to be completed before the remaining doors and windows. We visited the marble and granite stone cutting factory yesterday and decided against black granite counter tops. We chose granite that is a flowing mix of terracotta and gray which will complement our floor tiles, appliances and cabinets while keeping the look lighter. As the kitchen is quite small, I hope it will appear more spacious with this lighter colored granite. Our new choice needs to be cut and delivered before the factory closes for holidays on August 1st. It cannot be measured or cut until the kitchen installation is complete.
Things are progressing very quickly now. While it is great fun, it is also tiring and we are in need of lunch as all this activity has taken until 3:00. When we arrive in BF's kitchen we find a huge workman's bucket of yellow and red grapes that Panayiotis brought earlier. We fall upon them greedily devouring them like starving little piglets. To my delight they are seedless. They naturally taste divine as they are fresh from the vine this morning. After lunch and Ouzo, we sleepily trundle off to our room to examine our eyelids for holes until it is time for an evening swim around 6.
This is an easy pattern we have developed in only a few days of being here. We arise early, swim, have breakfast, shop and work on house related projects, eat lunch around 3, take a siesta, swim in the evening, shower and dress, prepare dinner and eat around 10pm. Then it is off to bed around midnight. This evening, however, we have been invited to eat at Panayiotis’ restaurant. After our swim we will make our way by car to the north side of the island where we will meet up with 3 cousins who also have a house here and who come to escape the infernal heat of Athens during July and August.
There will be no work tomorrow as it is Sunday. We may try our hand at windsurfing and become three in the multitude of moving colorful dots upon the water that we see from the terrace. Monday it will be back to work for we need to select lighting fixtures and small appliances for the kitchen. No rest for the wicked.
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